"Hey. Who do we have here?" Naruto eyed the two so-called Konoha Advisors, his expression dripping with disdain. "If it isn't the pair that vanishes to who-knows-where the second a battle starts, only to pop back up the instant it's over..."
"Konoha's two great Advisors?"
When war breaks out, they run faster than anyone. When the dust settles, they race back just as quickly.
Naruto's earlier attack had blanketed the entire village. The fact that these two were completely unscathed spoke volumes about how deep a hole they had crawled into.
To claim they held no malice toward Naruto, like Jiraiya, Kakashi, or Guy? You could beat Sasuke to death before Naruto believed that.
These two weren't any better than Danzo. Throughout Konoha's three major crises, the Night of the Nine-Tails Rampage, the Konoha Crush, and Pain's Assault, they had only stood beside the Third Hokage during the Nine-Tails attack. For the other two? God knows where they were. Yet, without fail, they were the first on the scene once the fighting stopped.
They undermined Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, to seize power. If he remembered right this was a problem even in the Boruto era, when Naruto became the Seventh, these two were still tripping him up and grasping for control.
When it comes to being "The Ninja World's Number One Shit-Stirrers." I, Uzumaki Naruto, would gladly crown you two the strongest.
Just what kind of people made up the Konoha Higher-ups? With this level of competence, how could they possibly be lauded as experienced veterans who had "abandoned self, eliminated emotion, and made the wisest decisions"?
"How rude!" Koharu narrowed her eyes, barking in anger. "Who do you think you are, to speak to us in that tone?"
Seeing that Kakashi, Guy, and even Jiraiya remained motionless, Homura stepped in to emphasize the order. "Seize the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
"He is suspected of causing irreversible damage to Konoha."
"He must be handed over to the Torture and Interrogation Force immediately."
The two Advisors didn't realize Naruto was the one who had reduced Konoha to this state, but they had heard his speech. In their eyes, that made him dangerous. His ideology was dangerous. There was no guarantee he wouldn't turn on the village.
As for being the Fourth's son... well, who was Minato to them, anyway? Even at the height of the Fourth Hokage's power, he had to defer to them.
The most important point, however, was simple: the Advisors didn't like Naruto.
Capture him first, talk later.
But Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Guy clearly had no intention of moving against him. Naruto's words had plunged the three of them into deep thought, they realized now that Konoha was truly sick...
Besides, whether the Torture and Interrogation Force even existed right now was another matter entirely.
"I'm going back to Mount Myoboku," Jiraiya said.
He felt deeply lost. He needed to seek the Great Toad Sage for guidance, to ask exactly how he should walk his path in the future.
'The path is beneath your feet, just walk it however you must. If you have to rely on prophecies, you might as well lie down and rot.' That was Naruto's answer.
If Jiraiya had asked, Naruto would have told him exactly that. But he didn't ask, and Naruto didn't offer.
Jiraiya didn't look back. He dissolved into a puff of smoke and vanished.
'Reverse Summoning Jutsu.'
"Are you two going to ignore the orders of the Advisors as well?" Koharu glanced at Kakashi and Guy. They remained indifferent. When the two men stood their ground, she lowered her voice, repeating the command. "Seize the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki."
Yet... still, no one moved.
After Naruto's earlier lecture, they felt a deep disgust toward these so-called "Higher-ups."
'Rebellion! They're all rebelling!'
With so many clan heads watching, the Advisors knew they absolutely could not afford to become a laughingstock.
The main event, the struggle for power, was next. The clans were shrewd, they would only follow the strong.
Truly worthy of the title "Advisor." Their first thought wasn't how to rebuild Konoha, but how to grasp more power.
"Anbu, attend to your orders..." The ninja beside the Advisors were essentially Konoha's last remaining squad. "Seize the Jinchuriki!"
The Anbu tensed, ready to strike. But just as they moved,
"I'd like to see who dares!"
A violent shout resounded through the ruined village.
*Tap, tap, tap.*
Accompanied by the rhythmic strike of wood against ground, Danzo made his entrance, leaning on his cane and flanked by Root agents.
Danzo looked at the two Advisors. He had shed his usual air of decay, today, he was high-spirited, his single eye burning with a unique confidence. With the posture of a victor, he addressed them. "Homura, Koharu. What are you planning to do to 'my' Jinchuriki?"
Danzo surveyed the surroundings, making a mental evaluation. 'I didn't expect the combined destructive power of the One-Tail and Seven-Tails to be this great. To ruin the village to this extent... well, forget it. Rebuilding won't take long.'
None of them had seen Naruto destroy the village, they assumed it was collateral damage from the battle with the Sunagakure.
"Danzo!" The Advisor's faces reddened in unison. Koharu shouted an accusation immediately. "Where have you been?"
The implication was obvious: 'When the Sunagakure invaded, where did you hide?'
It was a preemptive strike, intended for the clan heads. 'Look, this Danzo is wicked, he hides during crises. You must support us.' Usually, they treated these clan heads with indifference, but now, they were desperate for their support.
Such was reality.
Even though *they* were clearly the ones who had hidden away.
"Where did I go?" Danzo snorted coldly, bristling with dissatisfaction. "Does I need to report my whereabouts to you?"
His answer brought a flicker of joy to the Advisor's faces. 'Political idiot.'
A Root agent stepped forward, whispering into Danzo's ear. Danzo immediately swept a gloomy glare over Homura and Koharu.
"Of course, I was escorting the Daimyo to safety, we all know how important safety of Daimyo is for the village." Danzo corrected immediately. "You ask where I was, but I must ask: when Konoha was under siege, where were 'you' two?"
Escorting the Daimyo was an ironclad justification. It trumped everything. No one could question it, no one dared.
'Those two old fools dug a trap for me! Damn them!'
"Put our matters aside, the urgent task is seizing the Jinchuriki," Homura interjected quickly. He was covering for Koharu, throwing out a new issue to divert attention, their classic maneuver. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is extremely dangerous right now!"
What they didn't realize was that Naruto was currently Danzo's trump card. There was no way he would discard him.
"Dangerous? Where is the danger?" Danzo grunted disdainfully. He turned to the boy. "Naruto. Are you dangerous?"
'Two old fools want to control 'my' Jinchuriki? Don't even dream of it. Everyone here is on my side.'
Naruto shrugged, playing along perfectly. "Of course not, Grandpa Danzo."
He paused, then corrected himself with a grin.
"No... I mean, Grandpa Fifth Hokage."
===============
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